Comments on April 2008 Survey Question #2

I don’t think so. The biggest problem with Hughes is that he never learned to pitch out of trouble. Dominating minor league hitters won’t help that. He’ll just crack when he gets challenged again in the majors. I say give him 2-3 more starts and if he still looks lost then…maybe you make a move.

NO. If healthy both Hughes and Kennedy should make every start. This is what we signed up for, the kids need to learn the major leagues. Whenever Joba goes back to starting, we will have to go throught this again. This is what usually happens to young pitching in MLB.

Same question baileywalk: Are you willing to burn out your bullpen and punt the season just for the sake of allowing Hughes to learn how to pitch in the majors? Is one person more valuable than the team?

I think if it weren’t for the injuries, the roster could probably be rearranged to accomodate them. Let’s not forget there have been some odd circumstances in the rookie starts, between the musical catchers, rain delays, perpetual road trip, and lack of offense. If they settle down just a little, the rest of the team starts to look like a team, and a legitimate long man (or two?) emerges, I think they’ll both be able to develop at this level without “ruining” the team. It’s not like they were going to sweep the postseason before these guys came along.

Same question baileywalk: Are you willing to burn out your bullpen and punt the season just for the sake of allowing Hughes to learn how to pitch in the majors? Is one person more valuable than the team?
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It’s not a guarantee you’re punting away the season by keeping them in the rotation. And it’s about THEM — not just about Hughes. Kennedy is in this as well, so framing it as Hughes v. the team is disingenuous.

But my answer would be yes. Not to giving away the season, but giving them more time. If you commit to them to start the year, refusing to trade them and basically guaranteeing both of them jobs on the big-league club, then I say you give it more than a month. If we’re three starts from now and Kennedy and Hughes haven’t gone more than 4 innings a start, then send them back to AAA. I don’t see Igawa or Rasner as being that much better, but get it done. I just don’t think it’s time to pull the trigger yet.